It is well known to use different types of pouches to serve as a container or packaging for many different types of consumer products, as well as food and beverage products. One type of pouch that is used for these types of products is referred to as a bottom gusseted pouch, wherein the bottom portion of the pouch includes a gusset that allows for the bottom to expand outwardly to provide additional storage spaced within the pouch. Further, when the bottom gusseted pouch is formed of a structured film, the pouch is capable of standing upright on a support surface.
A bottom gusseted pouch typically includes a top end, a bottom end, and opposing side edges that are connected with one another to define an interior compartment spaced therein. This type of pouch is typically manufactured in a side-by-side orientation so that the sides of each of the pouches are connected in series. In some cases, the flow of the web material used to form the front and back panels of the pouch is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the individual pouches. Further, the top end includes a zipper that allows the pouch to be selectively opened and closed to allow items to be placed within the interior compartment space. As previously mentioned, the bottom end includes a gusset that allows for expansion of the bottom portion of the pouch, which allows the finished pouch to remain in an upright position.
One significant problem with the side-to-side manufacturing orientation of the bottom gusseted pouches is that, after the pouches are manufactured, but not yet separated from one another, they cannot easily be rolled into a uniform cylindrical roll. In particular, such a roll would be non-uniform due to the increased amount of material used to form the bottom gusset at the bottom end of the pouch, as well as the zipper located at the top end of the pouch. The roll would have significant non-uniformities, such as bumps, that would make it difficult for a downstream packaging operation to use the roll in a subsequent filling process. Furthermore, the side-to-side manufacturing process requires that the pouches be opened, which creates a problem when the downstream filling process requires that the inside of the pouch be sterile. Also, side-to-side pouch manufacturing processes requires a significant amount of floor space in a manufacturing facility, which can be problematic in some instances.
As such, there is a need for a method for producing a roll of serially connected bottom gusseted pouches formed of structured film having a top- to-bottom end orientation to provide a compact cylindrical roll of completed bottom gusseted pouches. The present invention addresses this and other needs.